Church: a goal or a tool?

“Once you hear the details of victory, it is hard to distinguish it from a defeat.” ~Jean-Paul Sartre

Keep in mind that the above quote is from a French guy, but the principal is true in a spiritual sense: a successful Christian life and/or a ministry life can appear very much like a life of defeat in the world’s eyes.

So, why do we take our Spiritual cues from the volume of the applause? Why do we look for satisfying success in the confines of this temporal life? Why do we back off from obedience when our version of victory becomes different from Gods? What has happened to obedience for the sake of obedience? What happened to Church being a tool? Why has it become a goal?

Leading a mega-church is a stupid goal. Starting a simple church network is a stupid goal. Having a house church is stupid goal. Being in full-time ministry is a stupid goal. Being bi-vocational is a stupid goal. These are not the climaxes of our existence, and once achieved the cruise-control can be set. These are not goals. Church and ministry are not goals – they are tools.

How about discipleship? According to history, all of the well known disciples in the Bible ended in worldly defeat – most of the new testament was written by Paul from a jail cell!!!

Yet, we have pastors quitting in perceived failure because their church isn’t growing fast enough!!!...but if it were growing faster, they would stay?!?!?

We have people sitting in church pews with NO IDEA that God would like to use them to reach a lost world, and no plans to move. But, if we have enough of those people, WE… ARE… CONSIDERED…. SUCCESSFUL… IN… MINISTRY !!!!! My head is about to explode. Our definition of success is …INSANE!!!

(Deep breaths.)

This is a quote from a friend’s blog in the UK, which was taken from one of his friends...so it's been thoroughly laundered.

"If you are going to reach the people other people aren’t reaching, you will
have to do things other people aren’t doing."

"In order to do the things other people aren’t doing you will have to stop doing what other people are doing."

Coupled with a review on "The M Blog" of the book "Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior" there is a lot to mull over in terms of the assumptions we make, and the actions that follow.

It is amazing how much of what we do is swayed by conformity to our current church culture, and I’m not talking about structure (i.e…mega-church vs. organic church).

In fact, we are continually duped into thinking that function follows form, and that in the right structure (leadership driven, or house church, or etc…) the “magic” of Kingdom expansion will happen…um…magically. If God can speak through a donkey, then I’m not sure that structure is as important as we think.

What I’m speaking to is the lack of obedience to God and the desired approval of church culture (i.e. church building, multiple ministries, full-time pay, ecumenical attempts to all hold hands and sing Kumbaya, attendance, budgets, ….all good and well, but not the goal).

All of these, and more, can be functional realities that help reach more people who do not know Jesus Christ, but these are tools, not goals. Church is a tool, not a goal. Being involved in ministry is not a goal, it is a tool. We are utensils in Gods hands, not useless, shelf-dwelling dishes created to sit and look good.

It is not enough to just get together. It’s not enough to just show up and “play house” using the latest Christian catch-phrases and cutting edge lingo, which gives the impression of action and unfortunately substitutes for actual movement. And, this movement need not be overly intense, but it does need to be intentional.

Church is not a fox hole, it is a mess hall. There is no "arrival" before taking our last earthly breath. Church is not a goal – it is a tool.

What if it were just you and God? No money, no applause, no position, no cues from the crowd, no Christian lingo, and no motivation other than God and His love for people, and His desire to work in and through you to reach those people. De-construct everything and try to remove all assumptions....the Bible is true, thats it…how would your life change?

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